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Though oftbn mislbd hy Prejudice and Passion, hb was bmphat- 
iCALLV an Honest Man. — MacauUy. 



n m\m m m merican people, 



S l(i^S$oK SX© SK SP0I<0(^Y 



AMERICAN SLAVERY. 



A DUTY. 



BY WILLIAM H. CURD. 



CHICAGO, ILL.: 

BIRNEY HAND S: CO., PRINTERS. 
1879. 



•5, 



/ , 






En 


tcred, 


according to Act of 


Congress, in 


the 


year 


1879. by 






WILLIAM 


H. 


CURD, 








in 


the office of the Librarian 


of 


Congress 


at 


Wash 


ington. 



/^ ^y/O /? 



PREFACE. 



The following pages may appear somewhat 
strangely to some ; especially to a portion of my 
own race. But after giving it a thorough consid- 
eration we think they will justify us, or at least 
concede that we have done no injury. If it has 
any effect whatever, we hope it will be for the 
better. 

We saw that the poUtical strife among the 
American people was one growing largely out of 
the question of the negro and slavery. The im- 
portance of this question caused us to give it 
more consideration. Seeing the diversity of 
opinion we desired to show the cause which 



6 PREFACE. 

brought it about. We tind that it originated, a 
a general thing, from the difference in teaching 
and as all will concede was perfectly natural. I 
sweet apple tree will invariably produce swee 
apples. 

It has not been our intention to show tha 
slavery is, or was right, but simple to show th( 
causes which brought about the difference, o 
antipathy between the two great parties of th( 
day. This antipathy we hope will soon be i 
thing of the past. 

THE WEITEE. 



NATURE'S PREJUDICE. 



In the world's history, there seems to have 
been no institution more general than human 
slavery. The slave, with his friends, fails to 
understand, or seems unwilling to admit, any 
substantial excuse for those who have enslaved 
him or adhered to the principle of human bond- 
age. 

The reason of this is not hard to find. We 
know it is characteristic of human nature not to 
look squarely upon both sides of a question, but 
to be partial to one side or the other It is also 
characteristic of it to have narrow and biased 
views upon all subjects into which prejudice or 
strons: self-interest enters. 



8 NATURE'S PREJUDICE. 

The Scriptures teach us that we cannot serve 
two masters, for we must love the one and hate 
the other. They teach us that human affection 
must center upon one as it cannot upon all oth- 
ers. So the human intellect, in all questions, 
has a tendency to look upon one pole of the truth 
to the exclusion of the other, and finds itself the 
enthusiastic servant of the side of truth which 
lies nearest it. Yet truth has its two poles and 
has other sides than that upon which, perhaps, 
our attention has been wholly concentrated. 
The broader view of things we should ever strive • 
to take. The result would be a wider knowledge, 
a more charitable spii-it, and a juster view. At 
some distance from a window, we see only that 
which lies directly in front of it ; but, as we draw 
nearer, our field of vision is enlarged, and ob- 
jects at the right and left of it, unseen before, 
appear to modify the landscape. 

So we know there are two sides to the question 
we discuss in the following pages ; but from a 
dispassioned view of both sides of the question 
we hope to reach a just conclusion. 

Neither Mr. Lincoln nor Mr. Douglas had the 



NATURE'S PREJUDICE. 9 

same views in regard to American politics or gov- 
ernment; bnt both viewed the government in 
different lights, and each one could see the suc- 
cess of America only in his own light. Mr. Lin- 
coln declared, if slavery and the Democratic 
party continued in existence, it would be a sin 
and disgrace upon the face of the globe, and God 
would eventually destroy the people for their per- 
sistent effort in wickedness. Mr. Douglas posi- 
tively declared, if human slavery was abolished, 
the country would inevitably go to the devil. 

So it is in the great money problem to-day. 
There is nothing that has so equally divided the 
minds of the people as the financial question. 
One class claims that it has a true reason for urg- 
ing the paper dollar upon an equal base with 
gold and silver, and that any other basis will be 
ruinous to the country ; while class number two 
argues that the only way to success is to flood 
the country with greenbacks and have a premium 
on gold, or greenbacks below par. Anna Dick- 
inson, Mrs. Stanton, Ben. Butler, and others, 
think tiie people will never do justice to the 
country until they place the female sex at par, 



10 NATURE? S PREJUDICE. 

from the highest to the lowest grades of the 
male sex. Others believe that, according to 
Scripture, it would be a great sin ; and if we fol- 
low nature and custom, a great injury would be 
heaped upon human society to admit of such a 
thing. Hence both claim staunch reasons. 

The capitalist claims that he has a right to pay 
the laborer whatever he pleases, whether the com- 
pensation is sufficient to sustain him or not. The 
laborer says his employer should bo compelled to 
recompense him enough for the necessaries of life, 
at least. So these antagonists come to the front, 
each bringing what he calls laudable reasons for 
attempting to repel his opposite. 

England and France for many years at swords* 
points : each country taught its people to hate 
the other; and, at the present time, we think 
there are other people whose opinions France 
appreciates as much as she does England's; and 
England has a warmer heart for other nations 
than for the French. 

Many religious denominations differ widely in 
their views. Some assert that there is only one 
true way of serving or worshiping the Creator. 



NATURE'S PREJUDICE. II 

Ihe Jew thinks Christ has never appeared on the 
earth, but is to come. The Gentile believes he 
his been here once and will come again. Some 
denominations think they can reach the Land of 
Bliss only by living up to a strict doctrine ; oth- 
ers feel sure they can get there just as easily by 
not being quite so dogmatic. The Baptist be- 
lieves that immersion is necessary in order that 
one may be saved ; while the Methodist and 
those of other denominations think that sprink- 
ling only is essential. 

All have their reasons for their diiferent ideas. 
Likewise, the Southern people claim they had a 
right to continue Negro slavery. 



NATURE. 



As we said in the beginning that it seemed to 
be a great wonder to some why the Southerners 
fought for and upheld slavery, it is our intention 
to show, by nature, that they inherited this prin- 
ciple. "Well was it spoken, long ago, that nature 
could be governed only by obeying her laws. 
We assume what we shall henceforth endeavor 
to prove : that every cause pursues an establish- 
ed path to its effect; i. e., every phenomenon is 
produced by an established law. Nature is the 
sum of qualities and attributes which make a 
thing what it is as distinguished fi-om others. 
Everything the Supreme Being created is more 
or less influenced by its surroundings. Look at 



NATURE. 13 

tlio time of Noah settling his ark. After his de- 
scendants biiilt the Tower of Babel, they scatter- 
el in different directions. We find that each 
8d|ttlement had principles, laws, customs, etc., 
piuliar to itself. It was this emigration that 
catsed the great variety of colors in mankind, 
sinee it is well known that at one time, according 
to tistory, there was but a single race. 

We cannot dispute the assertion that the Afri- 
can race descended from Noah ; neither can we 
attribute their difference from other races to any- 
thing ^ve their emigration to the hot climate o f 
Africa. Then, if localities tend to change the 
form of the physical nature of man, why not 
various teachings and influences affect the mental 
nature % The change of localities and surround- 
ings inevitably affects the habits and minds of 
men. 

Gardeners and agriculturists are well aware of 
the influence exerted by favorable conditions on 
plants. The result following the given influence 
takes place with mathematical certainty. Many 
wild plants, when taken from the wilderness and 
cultivated, often double and triple themselves. 



14 NATURE. 

This is true of the peony. Others change ther 
color, as the hydrangea. It was Linnaeus' opi:i- 
ion that the primrose, cowslip, and polyanthrs, 
between which there are specific differences, 
were vai-ieties of one species. A salt and bitter 
plant like the chardock, with green waving leases, 
was taken from the sea-side and transplanted 'nto 
rich soil, where it became two plants, between 
which there exist specific distinctions — the cab- 
bage and the cauliflower. The apgle was cerived 
from the sour crab which ornaments the banks 
of rivers, and, by variations in its cultuje, runs 
into the countless varieties which add value to 
the orchard. The pl^n was derived from the 
bitter sloe ; the luscious,^each from a poisonous 
shrub of the Persian deserts. The sour red cur- 
rant is, by culture, changed into a new variety, 
larger and sweeter than the cherry. The inestim- 
able potato is derived from a diminutive root 
growing wild in Chih. The carrot, in its wild 
state, is a slender, dry root, unfit to eat. Hence 
these changes are produced by different methods 
of cultivation. 

Must all insects conform to the weed-like veg- 



NATURE. IS 

etation on which they teed ? M. Fabre, of Ogal, 
France, took the seeds of agilops ovata, a rough 
grass, native of soutliern France and Italy, and, 
after twelve successive years of cultivation, it be- 
came perfect wheat ; and not a single plant ever 
reverted to its former agilops ic character. 

At the request of the Marquis of Bristol, Lord 
Hervey, in the year 1843, sowed a handful of 
oats and treated them in the manner recommend- 
ed, by continually stopping the flowering stems, 
and the product since 1844- has been, for the most 
part, ears ol slender barley, having much the 
appearance of rye, with a little wheat and some 
oats. 

Climate and culture have great eifect upon an- 
imals. It is stated that the common horse, trans- 
ported to Arabia, in time has a more perfect 
form. In 1764, the French introduced horses 
and cattle into the Falkland Islands, and, al- 
though the horses have increased in numbers, 
they have greatly degenerated, and are so small 
and weak that they cannot be used in taking wild 
animals. But one breed of cattle was imported; 
yet, occupying a territory of only a hundred and 



16 NA TURE. 

twenty by six miles, tbey have separated iuto 
three distinct varieties. Tliose on the high land 
are a mouse color. North of Choiseal Sound, 
they are dark brown, while south of it they are 
white, with black heads and feet. 

It is not our intention to place the vegetables 
or the lower animals on a level with humanity, 
but only to show the gradual change of nature 
by cultivation and surrounding influences. As 
the vegetable will probably not change until you 
change its cultivation, and the animal his phys- 
ical nature until you change his locality or sur- 
roundings, so a nationality will not change its 
mental nature or its genei-al principles, until long- 
years of inculcation of other fundamental ideas 
and customs. "Convince a man against his will 
and he will have his opinion still." 
1 Like the aristocracy of some of the foreign 
countries — for instance, England — where the aris- 
tocracy monopolize the entire estate, according 
to J. C. Cobden ("White Slaves of England "). 
The poor class was not able to have estates, for a 
great many reasons. They received only enough 
to Uve on, and if any one desired to purchase 



NA TURK. 17 

an acre of himl, the aristocrat 'wS'Ould run 
it up so high above the real value that he 
would not be able to purchase it. He states 
that, at the time of his writing, there were 
77,007,043 acres of land in the United King- 
dom, including the small islands adjacent. Of 
this quantity, 28,227,435 acres was uncultivated. 
The population of the United Kingdom number- 
ed at least 28,000,000 ; 50,000 of these own the 
entire kingdom. The remaining 27,950,000 had 
to cultivate the land and enslave themselves in 
factories, at whatever wages the aristocrats might 
offer. What a tremendous majority there was 
that did not own even a foot of land ! Many of 
their huts contained only one or two rooms. 
Often, families of seven and eight slept in the 
same room, and many times in the same bed. 
Thus we show that the slavery of England was 
even worse than American slavery, for the Amer- 
ican slave law compelled the slaveholder to feed 
and protect his vassals ; but in England, these 
poor people had no such provision. Unable to 
emigrate, for want of passage money, they could 
only endure it. Of late years there has been a 



1 8 NATURE. 

change ; tbey have beguu to divide the land 
among the poor. Each child, after the death of 
his parents, receives five acres of land. The 
aristocratic element imbibed this spirit from the 
cradle up, and, of course, it became a second 
nature. So it was with the slaveholder of the 
United States and his sympathizers. If the aris- 
tocracy of England conld put its heel upon the 
neck of its own race, it is hardly to be wondered 
at that here one race could be taught to enslave 
another. 

Hudson Tuttle states that nature utterly repu- 
diates all miraculous interference in her domain, 
where everything, from the mote that dances in 
the sunbeam to the intellect emanating from the 
congeries of the human brain, is governed by 
established principles. It was the nature of Al-' 
exander the Great, as well as kings before and 
after him, to conquer the world even, if possible, 
and subjugate its people to vassalage. The Hin- 
doos drown or burn tlieir children in honor of 
their wooden gods, while a Christian nation 
would look upon this with the greatest horror. 

View the inhabitants of the United States as 



' NATURE. 19 

tliey migrate from North to South. Men of the 
most staunch abolitionist principles have emigra- 
ted South from tlie North, and have become 
among the strongest pro-slavery sympathizers or 
crudest of task-masters. So Southerners, com- 
ing North, often became the staunchest of aboli- 
tionists. The Southern slaveholder frequently 
sent his sons North to educate them, and found 
them on return opposed to human slavery. The 
.teaching and surroundings are sufficient to ac- 
count for the opposing sentiment. 



EDUCATION. 



Our opinions are brought about by education. 
Some of the heathen nations, taught by their 
ancestors to worship dogs, cats, rats, and mice, 
have gradually learned to worship the true Christ. 
The Indians, as a whole, still hunt the wild beast' 
of the forest and live in their jirimitive way ; yet 
many of them are becoming civilized, cultivating 
land, educating themselves, and preaching the 
Gospel, of which they once knew nothing. 

It is said that universal man was at first a sav- 
age. If so, behold him in his advanced state ! 
The Caucasian race once made food of each other. 
Thus we recognize the fact that human nature is 
susceptible of changes, and so we do not doubt 
that, as Russia and the West Indies have left 
their slave mart behind them and recognized the 
equality of their former slaves, so will the people 
of the United States, and, we hope, at no very 
distant day. 



INFLUENCE OF EDUCATION. 



In speaking of influence on man, of course we 
admit that there are exceptions to all rules and 
in all cases, but we shall view it upon general 
principles. As we have already said on a previ- 
ous page, man is more or less influenced by his 
training. Then our influence is so powerful 
sometimes, that we will only take a one-sided 
view of things, and shut our eyes and turn a deaf 
ear to reason, argument, or fact on the other side. 
This is the source of prejudice, and this prejudice 
is so strong that objects are hated without being 
seen. 

In 1862, when the writer was coming from 
Cairo, Illinois, on the Ilhnois Central railroad, in 
company with two or three other colored Amer- 



22 INFLUENCE OF EDUCATION. 

icans, he saw this ilhistrated. While the train 
was standing at the depot, shouts went up from 
the multitude assembled, looking upon us as indi- 
cating a victory over the South. One said to an- 
other, ''John, come see the poor slaves." John 
answered, " I don't want to see them." '.'Oh, 
yes; you never saw one." "I know that; but 
I have heard of them. I take no stock whatever 
in them ; they will steal everything they can get 
their hands on. Therefore I don't want to see 
them, nor have anything to do with them." 

Now, probably this was an honest man, who 
hated a thief, and, hearing that Negroes stole, 
believed it, and that all were alike. So a man 
who is influenced adheres to the union of the ^ 
of the United States, although there may be 
many things obnoxious to him ; while others feel 
■ that they have sufiicient reason for seceding from 
the Union. 

The Democrat often votes the Democratic tick- 
et because his father was a Democrat. The abo- 
litionists, many of them, were taught that it was 
dishonorable for one man to enslave another, and 
so would turn entirely from the other side of the 



IiVFLUEATCE OE EDUCATION. 23 

question. The churchman finds it hard to give 
up the church or denomination his mother loved 
and taught him to attend, and feels loth to ac- 
knowledge the true equality of other churches ; 
and, if he does, he still has a secret feeling that 
the seats in other churches are not quite equal to 
those in his own church. We knew a lady who 
married a gentleman who was connected with a 
Baptist church, she being a member of a Metho- 
dist church. She said she had no fault to find 
with the Baptists, but she could not feel quite as 
comfortable in their church as in her own. / 

A great many thousands of our white friends 
in the United States, rich and poor, illiterate and 
learned (we regret to say), do not wish to make 
any distinction in colored people, in the social, 
financial, or intellectual standing. Their preju- 
dice has led them not only to think but to feel 
that one Negro is no better than another. In 
speaking of Frederick Douglass, a learned white 
gentleman said to us, "Fred. Douglass is a man 
your race ought to be proud of." We acknowl- 
edged his compliment, and said we were proud 
to have a man whom we could place among the 



24 INFLUENCE OF EDUCATION. 

knowing men of our time. "But," said our 
friend, "he is a man I don't like." "Why?" 
wejasked. "Because he thinks he knows more 
than the rest of the Negroes." " We agree that 
he does," was our answer, "for there are more 
white people than Negroes who are far behind 
him." Reluctantly he turned away. Thus it is 
plainto us all that this prejudice is caused by the 
influence of education or surroundings. In fur- 
ther proof of the influence of education, we offer 
below a couple of extracts from the Memphis (Ten- 
nessee) Appeal — Jeff. Davis and Jubal A. Ear- 
ly, for not attending the unveiling of the monu- 
ment to the Confederate dead in that city : 

"Accept my congratulations on the comple- 
tion of the laudable effort to raise a monument at 
Memphis to those who died that the South might 
live. Though far away from the ceremony of 
unveiling that monument, my heart's warmest 
affections will .be with those who are standing 
about it to do honor to the heroes that we can 

'never forget. 

"Jeffeeson Davis." 



»' 



INFLUENCE OF EDUCATION. 25 

Jnbal A. Earl}' thus expresses himself: 

"Inconsistent with the j!)resent duties and obli- 
gations resting on us to pay becoming respect, to 
honor the heroic virtues of the men who fell while 
fighting with us for civil and constitutional liber- 
ty; but, on the contrary, if the time shall ever 
arrive when we shall prove recreant to the mem- 
ories of our dead comrades, then we will forfeit 
all claims to respect for ourselves and titles to be 
trusted in the performance of other duties. If 
ever, from the maxims of a mistaken policy or 
the seductions of political preferment, the men 
of the present day shall become ashamed of the 
principles and the causes for which the Confeder- 
ate armies fought and the men you now honor 
died, the women of the South will prove more 
faithful guardians of the fame and glory of our 
dead heroes, and will teach our children to vindi- 
cate the principles, cherish the memories, lisp the 
names, and imitate the virtues of those who fell 
in the defense of all they held most dear. 

"Jdbal a. Eaelt." 



26 INFLUENCE OF EDUCATION. 

We might offer here letters or speeches equally 
devoted to the other side ; but, however, we shall 
only submit one, by General Grant, at the Sol- 
diers' Eeunion, at Des Moines, Iowa, Septem- 
ber 30th, 1875, an absolutely accurate re- 
port by Col. L. M. Dayton, Secretary of the 
reunion, although it is said that he never could, 
never would, and never did make a speech. The 
following explains itself: 

" CoMEADES : It affords me much gratification 
to meet my old comi-ades in arms of ten to four- 
teen years ago, and to live over again the trials 
and hardships of those days — hardships imposed 
for the preservation and perpetuation of our free 
institutions. We believed then, and believe now, 
that we had a government worth fighting, and, if 
need be, dying for. How many of our comrades 
of those days paid the latter price for our pre- 
served Union ! Let their hei-oism and sacrifices 
be forever green in our memory. Let not the 
results of their sacrifices be destroyed. The Un- 
ion and the free institutions for which they fell 
should be held more dear for their sacrifices. 



\ INFLUENCE OF EDUCATION. 27 

We will not deny to any of those who fought us 
anj privnleges under the government wliich we 
claim for ourselves. On the contrary, we wel- 
come all such who come forward in good faith to 
help build up the waste places, and to perpetuate 
our institutions against all enemies, as brothers 
in full interest with us in a common heritage. 
But we are not prepared to apologize for the part 
we took in the great struggle. It is to be hoped 
that like trials will never befall our country. In 
this sentiment no class of people can more heart- 
ily join than the soldier who submitted to the 
dangers, trials, and hardships of the camp and 
the battle-field, on whichever side he may have 
fought. No class of people are more interested 
in guarding against a recurrence of those days. 
Let us, then, begin by guarding against every 
enemy threatening the perpetuity of free repub- 
lican institutions. I do not bring into this assem- 
blage politics, certainly not partisan politics, but 
it is a fair subject for our deliberation to consider 
what may be necessary to secure the piize for 
which they battled. 

" In a republic like ours, where the citizen is 



28 I NFL L 'E.VCE OF ED CCA TION. 

the sovereign and the official the servant, where 
no power is exercised except by the will of the 
people, it is important that the sovereign — the 
people — should possess intelligence. The free 
school is the promoter of that intelligence which 
is to preserve us a free nation. If we are to have 
another contest in the near future of our national 
existence, I predict that the dividing line will not 
be Mason and Dixon's, but between patriotism 
and intelligence on the one side, and superstition, 
ambition, and ignorance on the other. Now, in 
this centennial year of our national existence, I 
believe it a good time to begin the great work 
of strengthening the foundations of the good 
house commenced by our patriotic forefathers 
one hundred years ago at Concord and Lexing- 
ton. Let us all labor to add all needful guaran- 
tees for the more perfect security of free thought, 
free speech, free press, pure morals, unfettered 
religious sentiments, and of equal rights and 
privileges to all men, irrespective of nationality, 
color, or religion. Encourage free schools, and 
resolve that not one dollar appropriated to their 
support, no matter how raised, shall be appropri- 



INFLUENCE OF EDUCATION. 29 

at«d to the support of any sectarian school. Ke- 
solre that either tlie State or Nation, or both 
couhined, shall support institutions of learning 
sufibient to aftord to every child growing up in 
the land the opportunity of a good common- 
school education, unmixed with sectarian, pagan, 
or atheistical tenets. Leave the matter of relig- 
ion to the family circle, the church, and the pri- 
vate school, supported entirely by private contri- 
butions. Keep the Church and State forever sep- 
arate. With these safeguards, I believe the bat- 
tles which created us ' The Army of the Tennes- 
see ' will not have been fought in vain." 

As President Hayes told the people while on 
his visit through the South, they fought for what 
they felt to be right ; so did the North. 

■ Dear reader, it has beeu our endeavor to direct 
your attention in this case to nature — to the true 
cause and outgrowth of things. It is not for us 
to say that you do not understand nature ; but 
there are many of us who do not give it its due 
consideration at all times. Like the legislator 



30 IXFLUENCE OF EDUCATION. 

who voted against a prohibitory liquor law, tnd 
was astonished, a few days after he reached home 
from law-making, to find his son in the sa.oon 
drunk with whisky. In chastising him, he said, 
" Son, how long have you been at this ?" " Oh, 
about a year." "Then you've been "jptting 
drunk about a year ?" '* No ; I ' ve been getting 
real tipsy only six months, or soon after you vo- 
ted for a man to have all the whisky he wished." 
"Well, my son, have I not always told you it 
was wrong to drink whisky and get drunk?" 
"Yes, father, and I have always regarded it so, 
until you voted a law for a man to have all he 
wished ; and until you voted that law, I never 
drank all I wished. You know, in my younger 
days, you taught me to watch your actions, and 
be governed accord inglj'." Now, in this case, 
the father was looking at the effect, the son at 
the cause. The efiect is, son was drunk ; the 
cause, the father had encouraged him to drink. 
Like the son on the gallows for murder — when 
asked if he had anything more to say, replied, 
"Yes, just a word or two to my mother." His 
mother went forward. He said, "Hold here. 



INFLUENCE OF EDUCATION. 3r 

mother, I want to whisper to you ; a little closer," 
he said, and she did, and he hit off her ear. 
"Now, mother," he said, "I do this for a warn- 
ing to all mothers. You are the cause of all this 
— you brought me to it. Had you made me obey 
when I was young, and reared me up in the way 
I should go, perhaps I never would have depart- 
ed from your teachings. But you loved me so, 
you thought everything I did was right, whether 
it was good or bad." The cause was, negligence 
in teaching the child ; the effect was, the gal- 
lows. 

The government allows men to sell liquor, and 
then prosecutes others for drinking it. It also 
perpetuates the manufacturing of fire-arms, and 
makes a man pay a penalty if he is caught with 
one about his person. 

Negro slavery began in the United States in 
1619 or 1620, when a Dutchman brought over a 
group of Africans. If he and his little brig had 
been stopped then and there, perhaps the thous- 
ands of lives that were sacrificed for and against 
slavery would have been saved, and the enmity 
which separated the great North and the Siiuth 



32 INFLUENCE OF EDUCATION. 

would have been avoided. We see, then, that 
this act of the Dutchman and its continual repe- 
tition have caused great distress in this country, 
so great that it will take many years for fathers, 
mothers, brothers, sisters, and widows to forget. 
But the slave traffic marched steadily on for near- 
ly two hundred and forty years. Load after load 
was thrown upon our shores. Some contend that 
slavery was forced upon the United States. In- 
deed, we might say that the Dutchman forced the 
first load ; but as there was no noise made about 
it, he naturally thought they were not displeased, 
and so, we suppose, he went back after a second 
load. So slavery continued to grow. As the 
white Americans grew, so grew the colored Amer- 
icans with them. 

Before the Revolution of the thirteen States of 
the would-be United States, in 1773, '74, and '75, 
there seems to have been no great public or po- 
litical demonstration made in regard to slavery ; 
but after the United States came out victorious, 
and the smoke of the British cleared away, it 
seems that there was no question that occupied 
the public mind more than the Negro slavery of 



INFLUENCE OF EDUCATION. 33 

the United States. Bi;t the question grew rapid- 
ly in public opinion and favor as years rolled on. 
Finally, it became the leading question in a quiet 
way, and those in sympathy with slavery were 
always trying to legislate some slave question 
over some other. So slavery became an estab- 
hshed or constitutional law. One of the most 
prominent reasons for making it so, was the law 
taken from Scripture relative to Moses, or the 
Hebrew law. They take one of the ten com- 
mandments as a basis for slavery. In this they 
may have been sincere. The seventeenth verse 
of the twentieth chapter of Exodus reads thus: 
" Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou 
shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man- 
servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his 
ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's." Now, 
they claimed, if the ox was owned by the neigh- 
bor, then the servants must have legally belong- 
ed to the neighbor. " If a man smite his serv- 
ant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under 
his hand, he shall surely be punished ; notwith- 
standing, if he continue a day or two, he shall 
not be punished, for he is his money." Exodus,. 



34 INFLUENCE OF EDUCATION. 

21st chapter, 20th and 21st verses. "Both thy 
bond-meu and thy bond-maids which thou slialt 
have, shall be of the heathen that are round 
about you. Of them shall you buy bond-men 
and bond-maids ; moreover, the children of the 
strangers that do sojourn among you, of them 
shall ye buy, and of their families that are with 
you, which they begat in your land ; and they 
shall be your possession, and ye shall take them 
as an inheritance for your children after you, to 
inherit them for a possession. They shall be 
your bond-men forever. But over your breth- 
ren, the children of Israel, you shall not rule 
over one another with rigor." Leviticus, 25th 
chapter, 4ith, 45th, and J:6th verses. 

They claim this 46th verse of the 25th 
chapter of Leviticus to be one of the most sub- 
stantial bases for slavery. They also refer to the 
New Testament. ' ' For I am a man under author- 
ity, having soldiers under me ; and I say to this 
man G©, and he goeth ; and to another Come, 
and he cometh ; and to my servant Do this, and 
hedoethit." Matthew, Stli chapter, 9th verse. 
" So the servants of the householder came and 



nVFLUE.VCE OF education: 35 

said unto him, Sir, didst thou sow good seed in 
thy tiohl ? from whence, then, hath it tares ? He 
said unto them. An enemy hath done this. The 
servants said unto him. Wilt thou, tlien, that we 
go and gather them up?" Matthew, 13th chap- 
ter, STth and 2Sth verses. "For by one spirit 
are we all baptized into one body ; whether we 
be Jews or Gentiles ; whether we be bond or 
free ; and have all been made to drink into one 
spirit." 1st Cor., 12th chapter, and 13th verse. 
The 2d chapter of Titus, 9th verse, reads, 
''Exhort servants to be obedient to their own 
masters, and to please them in all things, not an- 
swering again." They say, as the children of 
Israel held the heathen in bondage, the good fa- 
ther Abraham bought and owned slaves, and 
Moses endorsed it ; therefore, they say, God in- 
tended that all civilized nations thereafter should 
hold the heathen in bondage ; and as the Africans 
were an uncivilized nation, therefore, they claim 
that they were justitied in enslaving them. As 
we have said before, it is not our intention to try to 
prove this a right, but try to show the true cause 
of African slavery in the United States. 



SECESSION. 



It seems to be a great mystery with many peo- 
ple whj- the South should secede from the Union. 
It is asked what reason they had to go, when Mr. 
Lincoln said to them, in his inaugural address, 
that he could not and would not interfere with 
slavery. The question might be answered by say- 
ing that the South knew the majority in Congress 
would vote in favor of abolishing slavery, and the 
abolitionists had always fought slavery all along 
the line, from beginning to end, and were now the 
majority in Congress, and that Congress made 
the laws of the United States, and not Mr. Lin- 
coln. Mr. Lincoln had well said that it was not 
his business to make the law's or interfere, but 



SECESSIO^r. 37 

only to carry them out. But the South well 
knew the abolitionists would legislate to abolish 
slavery, and, knowing Mr. Lincoln had promised 
faithfully to carry out the law, felt that this was 
the time to withdraw from the Union. It is said 
Mr. Lincoln further told them, in 1862, that, if 
they did not lay down their arms by the first day 
of 1S63, he would declare all States free that 
were in rebellion. Why didn't they come back 
then ? This question may be answered by saying 
that many put the wrong construction on Mr. 
Lincoln's declaration in this case. No doubt, if 
Mr. Lincoln in that proclamation had positively 
declared that slavery never should be interfered 
with, they might have returned. But he did not 
say this. 

If the parent says to his child, " If you don't 
cease to commit a certain bad act, I will punish 
you," the child will probably stop to escape pun- 
ishment ; but this is not a guarant-ee that he will 
never be punished afterward. So a man may in- 
sure his house for one year, but at the end of 
that time the insurance must be renewed, or he 
cannot recover damages should his property be 



38 SECESSWN. 

burned after that time. Likewise a physician 
may em-e a sick person, but he will not guarantee 
that he will never die, or be sick any more. 

In the time of the war, a great many had the 
idea that all who fought for the Uuion were fight- 
ing to liberate the slaves ; but this was a mista- 
ken idea. The proclamation was, Go forward 
and save your country. When, in 1860, the 
President's election took place, the whole people 
knew that Lincoln was a " black abolitionist ;" so 
he had only about one-third of the votes of the 
people of the United States. Ilad the South 
said, "We are fightinsc for our slaves," no doubt 
there would have been many thousand soldiers 
raised in the North to assist them. But many of 
the people were law-abiding citizens, as many 
now are. A. H. Stephens, of Georgia, is will- 
ing to stand by the commission that seated Hayes, 
because Congress agreed to stand by it. Ste- 
phen A. Douglas lost many friends by disturbing 
the Missoui'i Compromise after it became a law. 

Slavery grew in the United States until it, as 
we have said, became a custom, and from a cus- 
tom a law. Then the South claimed, as it was a 



SECESSION. 39 

laV and they paid for their slaves as they did for 
their other property, that slavery was right. 
They further found Scriptural proofs of this, and 
they say they felt as much justified in fighting to 
retain their slaves as their other property. The 
North was convinced that they were not justified, 
luvlistening to a conversation between a North- 
ern gentleman and a Southern lady, not long 
since, we could readily see that of each was edu- 
cated in him from childhood. 

Then the true cause of the secession of the 
South was Scripture, legislation, education and 
the mental nature. But we pray God that the day 
is not far hence when these two elements will 
realize the true feelings of each other, and be- 
come truly reconciled as brothers and sisters of 
pure blood, love and sup together in the same 
felicity as did our blessed Savior with the twelve 
Apostles. 



PREJUDICE. 



We now propose to show that human^nature 
becomes linked with a vast amount of prejudice. 
In attempting to state the true fact, we would 
venture to say that there are few things, if any, 
that have more influence over the human mind 
than prejudice. Prejudice is an opinion or deci- 
sion of the mind, formed without a true and just 
examination of any subject or subjects. 

We are too quick to prejudge that "so and so" 
is really the case, before we have examined 
or clearly demonstrated it. The inlidel de- 
clares that there is no God, no future, no world 
beyond the present, and he makes this assertion 
without any real foundation or visible illustration 



PREJUDICE. 41 

on wliich tu base his claims. We might say that 
he is prejudiced to what the Christian workl calls 
the invisible future. Wliile it is human nature 
to be skeptical, we condemn declarations without 
visible substantial reasoning. The infidel has 
only mj'thical reasons for his pretended advance- 
ments. We sometimes think that the infidel says 
one thing and in his heart believes something 
else ; for the greatest of them, Voltaire, Volney, 
and Tom Paine, did not forget to mention the 
name of their Creator in their dying hours. 

In a small country town, where we once lived, 
was a man of wealth who declared himself an 
infidel. He believed there was no God, never 
attended church or wished his family to do so. 
He was so dogmatic that, when his two daugh- 
ters professed religion, he refused to allow them 
to join any Christian church. One evening, his 
house caught fire, and he was seen running down 
the street, screaming "Oh, my God! my God! 
are you going to destroy all my property?" So 
we see he was calling on the very being who, he 
had previously declared, did not exist. The 
Christian world have many reasons for believing 



42 PREJUDICE. 

that there is a God. We certainly think there 
must have been a Supreme Being to create the 
world and all that in it is ; and if there was then, 
we have no reason to doubt his existence now. 
Some say the Scriptures may be the work of an 
impostor. Even if it is, we know that man and 
the world were created at some time and by some- 
body more powerful than ourselves. But we are 
wandering from our subject. 

To return, then — prejudice is one of the prom- 
inent faculties of nature, and can well be applied 
to our general subject : Human nature in regard 
to human slavery. One of the greatest obstacles 
in the way of the progress of the colored race is 
the great spirit of prejudice with the white race. 
It is not only in the Southern or slaveholding 
portion of the whites that this spirit manifests 
itself, but in the Northern whites as well. We 
speak of them as a class. Some Northerners 
have no prejudice against the Negro, only as to 
his social standing ; and, again, we have found 
friends of deep sympathy in the South. The 
Southerners appreciate the Negro in a certain 
capacity, viz.: as a slave and servant ; and in this 



PREJUDICE. 43 

condition they recognize his susceptihilitics of 
linman nature. If a slave was sick, he was at- 
tended by the family physician, and given medi- 
cine the same as the white members of the femi- 
ly, according to his size and age. Northern pre- 
judice is somewhat different. They do not wish 
to make slashes of the Negro, but they are not 
willing that he should have the same privileges 
or equaUties before the law that themselves have. 
It seems that one strong reason for one nation 
enslaving another is its incapability of governing 
itself. That is one inferiority. Then in the Ne- 
gro slave, he is black, and that has caused a great 
stigma. The Negro has been pointed at in his 
ignorance, and the young whites have grown up 
with the idea that Negroes cannot be educated. 
The Negro who steals five dollars causes more 
disturbance than the white man who steals twen- 
ty-five. Nearly every newspaper will copy an 
item on the first article, while the second will 
scarcely be mentioned. A meritorious act by a 
colored person is hardly noticed, while the most 
trifling thing which detracts from his good quali- 



44 PREJUDICE. 

ties is made public. Slavery is degrading to hu- 
manity, as Israel was degraded by Egypt. 

We hope that the whites, North and South, 
will soon realize the fact that we are human and 
as susceptible to right feeling and treatment as 
any and all nationalities. 



CAUSES OF TROUBLE BETWEEN 
THE TWO RACES. 



From what has ah-eady been said, we can read- 
ily see that ]irejudice is the fundamental cause of 
the existing troubles. There is nothing that will 
so much retard the progress of a country as a 
domestic disunion of its people. In all civilized 
countries there are two or more political parties. 
In the United States we have two, the Kepubli- 
can and the Democratic ; both favoring the same 
form of government, but differing widely in their 
opinions in carrying out the laws. Prejudice 
against the Negro exists all over the country, 
from Maine to Mexico, and from the Atlantic to 
to the Pacific oceans. But one of the most prom- 



46 CAUSES OF TROUBLE. 

inent causes of trouble between the races is the 
Negro in politics. Naturally he adheres to the 
Eepublican party, because it was instrumental in 
liberating him from bondage. Of course, he 
feels and a]jpreciates his freedom. 

Another reason why politics is a cause of trou- 
ble is, that it is a step toward equality. It tends 
to bring about the rights of franchise, which 
would at once bring the Negro upon a level in a 
political arena with the whites. And this is a 
right which a man considers most sacred. No 
privilege is so dear to him as the one which ena- 
bles him to help make laws to govern himself. 
This equality at the ballot-box forces equality be- 
fore the law in every capacity, from town consta- 
ble to President of the United States. 

Pardon us for digressing a moment ; but some 
of the opposers of Negro progress say that polit- 
ical equality brings about social equality as well. 
This is a grave mistake, for there is no law under 
the sun which can compel a man to associate with 
his co-laborers. The Negro is growing more 
like the white man every day. They now pay 
taxes on real estate and personal property, to 



■ CAUSES OF TROUBLE. 47 

assist in supporting our local and general govern- 
ments. So we like all to have equal rights with 
the white man when we are taxed as he is, and 
sometimes we like to vote for our officers, and 
occasionally to be voted for. It is all right for 
us to vote for the whites, but, as a class, they 
don't like to vote for us. It is a true saj-ing that , 
" it is a poor rule that don't work both ways." 
Then, when one of our race is elected to an of- 
fice, the whites make a great trouble, and the 
Negro persists in maintaining his position be- 
cause he feels that he is right. This can be 
plainly seen by viewing the State politics of Lou- 
isiana for the last six or eight years ; also a casu- 
al glance at Mississippi and South Carolina. 
Remember that these troubles do not emanate 
from Democrats entirely, but some Republicans 
as well. Another thing that disturbs our white 
friends is, when we wish to stop at a hotel — eve- 
rybody is troubled, from the ])roprietors down to 
the cook. But allow us to say this is all uncall 
ed-for. If our friends would consider the subject 
for a moment, without prejudice, they would 
quickly see that the Negro has to travel, eat, and 



48 CAUSES OF TROUBLE. 

sleep somewhere. And if the Negro cooks and 
it does not poison the guests, certainly his eating 
and sleeping would n't injure them. 

Again, on the steamboat, everybody is troubled 
on account of his wanting a place to eat and sleep. 
The steam car is another place where this preju- 
dice is exhibited, if the colored man prefers to ride 
in the rear car instead of the smoking car or next 
to the engine. If he desires to go to the theater, 
there has to be a "matinee" before he can get 
in — i. e., if he shows any preference of seats. 
If he appears at the school-house doors, with a 
book under his arm, where white children are, 
the house goes into spasms ; but it is no harm 
for him to play in the yard with the children. 

Now, we will ask our friends if they do not 
think it right if we have to abide by the law, go 
to jail, and be hung for the same crimes that oth- 
er men are, that we should share the privileges 
of the government ? We leave it with the read- 
ers of this book to consider the matter for them- 
selves, and, to fully appreciate it, let them put 
themselves in the Negro's place. 



CONCILIATION. 



As we have written a chapter on the causes of 
disturbance which naturally arise between our 
race and the whites, it will now be our pleas- 
ure to write a chapter on the other side of 
the question, or, in other words, on what men 
owe to each other. The first thing for us to take 
into consideration is, that it has been lawful in 
this country once for the white race to hold the 
African in bondage. This being the case, the 
Negro himself felt that it was his duty to obey 
his master because of the law, regardless of his 
feelings otherwise. I know this to be true by 
self-experience. Another thing we should think 
of is, that the government has seen fit to abolish 



50 CONCILIATION. 

slavery. As the slave submitted to the law of 
slavery when in force, is n't it our duty as a peo- 
ple to submit to the change which has been 
brought about? As Congressman Lamar said, 
in a political speech in Mississippi in 1876, "The 
war is over — the government has abolished slave- 
ry and put the Negro on equality before the law 
— why not submit to it and make the best of it ?" 

Our white friends South have said, the reason 
they do not treat the Negro any better is because 
the Negro votes against the interest of the South, 
or, as the darkey said, when asked by a white 
man how he knew which way to vote, as he could 
not read, " I always watch old massa, and which- 
ever ticket he puts in the box, I put in t' other 
kind." We will say to our white friends that 
there is no people who would have more influ- 
ence over the colored people by kind treatment 
than the native-born whites of the South. It is 
as natural for the Negro as for the whites to vote 
for those who look after his interests. And is he 
not right in doing so ? Then, my white friends, 
if you would have the Negro's friendship, vote 
that he may be protected in every capacity in 



CONCILIATION. 51 

lii'e. Vote that he may stop at hotels, go to the- 
aters, ride on steamboats and cars, also inside of 
the stages. Don't put him in the smoking-car 
whether he wishes to go or not; don't put him 
in the upper gallery of the theater; don't give 
him a hed over the boiler at the hotel ; don't put 
him down stairs among the horses on the steam- 
boat ; but simply say to him, " Go and come ac- 
cording to your abilities, as all other men do." 
Then, we venture to say, instead of the opposi- 
tion of the colored people, you will have their 
co-operation, for they have proved to you true 
friends. When you were fighting to keep them 
in slavery, they staid at home, labored and sup- 
ported your families, when they could have de- 
stroyed your wives and children — have you for- 
gotten that? Is not this something to think of? 

Jefferson Davis said, in a speech in Memphis, 
Tennessee, in 1876, that he never would forget 
the kindness of his old colored mother, etc. 
And as the Chicago Times (Democratic) said in 
1S76, the reason the Negro voted for the South- 
ern carpet-bagger was, because he had no one 
else in the South to vote for. It further said that 



52 CONCILIATION. 

the South could not expect a man to help make 
a law to crush his own head. Do not legislate 
against every measure for the benefit of the Ne- 
gro, but legislate as you would for other men ; 
and, as you had in him during the war a friend in 
need, now, by helping him, you will have one in- 
deed. 

We would say to the white and colored peo- 
ple, especially of the South, it behooves you both 
to forget the two hundred and fifty years of the 
past. Allow these centuries of cruelty and submis- 
sion to pass by, and think of it as a mere dream. 
Adhere to the Golden Ri:le, "Do unto others 
as you would have others do unto you." Many 
ask, "Now the Negro is free, what are you go- 
ing to do with him?" We repeat, in substance, 
what Fred. Douglass said in a speech in Balti- 
more, Maryland, shortly after tlie war closed. 
He said, " What are j'ou going to do with him ? 
I will tell you what to do with him. If you see 
him working on the streets, let him alone. If 
you see him farming, let him be. If you see him 
blacking boots, let him alone. If you see him 
with an ax or hoe on his shoulder, let him be. 



CONCILIATION. 



53 



If you see him going to school, let him alone. 
If you see him doing business, let him be. If 
you see him voting at the polls, let him alone. 
If you see him trying to go to the Legislature, 
let him go. If he is trying to go to Congress, 
and is qualified, send him along. If he tries to 
be a Judge, give him a bench. If he should ac- 
cidentally be elected to the United States Senate, 
don't close the door in his face when he gets 
there." 

It has not been our intention to speak reproach- 
fully of any people or party, but simply to show 
what teaching and nature will bring about. We 
have entertained the best of feeling toward all, 
and have tried to speak the truth and assert things 
just as they were and are now. How thankful 
we would be if something that we have said in 
this little book would help to bring a better state 
of feeling among the people of the North and 
South, the colored people and the whites. 



THE TRUE DUTY Or PEOPLE TO 
EACH OTHER. 



All men waut their dues. There is nothing 
that will cause dissatisfaction among men so 
quickly as giving some privileges over others. 
If we wish peace to our country and prosperity 
to our people, we must live and allow others to 
live, according to their nature, if it does not con- 
flict with the law of the country. In speaking of 
the duty of people to each other, we apply it to 
the people of the United States ; not to any spe- 
cific localities, but East or West, North or South. 
By nature, man becomes unhappy when any of 
his fellow-countrymen have privileges that he 
doesn't enjoy. He is continually fighting the 



TBE TRUE DUTY. 55 

law that oppresses bim. His friends also persis- 
tently fight his side of the question. This causes 
political excitement and trouble. Speaking of 
privileges, a friend of mine said to me, not long 
since, "I went to the theater the other night, 
and asked for a reserved seat ticket down stairs. 
The ticket agent said I could not go down stairs." 
He was very angry, and, when I asked the rea- 
son for his great anger, be said, "I have to pay 
taxes, and am governed by the law as other men 
are, and yet am debarred from their privileges." 
We here append a story to further illustrate 
our point. Perhaps it is familiar to many ; nev- 
ertheless, we will apply it to our subject. A 
man with a wife and five children got tired of 
supporting them (as they often do), and was con- 
tinually complaining to his employer, saying, if 
it bad n't been for Adam's disobedience, he 
would n't have to labor so for a living. As his 
murmuring on the subject was perpetual, his em- 
ployer said to bim, one day, "You still abuse 
Adam for violating the law, and I doubt not that 
in his place you would have done the same." 
"No, indeed," the murmurer repUed ; " if I was 



S6 THE TBVE DUTT. 

placed as Adam was, with all the means of hap- 
piness around me, I would never disturb any for- 
bidden fruit, however tempting it might be." 
Finally, his employer said, "I will tell you what 
I will do with you. I will agree to furnish you 
and your family with a house and all they can eat, 
if you will not violate a certain command that I 
will give you." The murmurer readily agreed ; 
so the employer furnished up a fine mansion for 
him, and told him to live well and not stint him- 
self, and as he wanted money, clothing, or pro- 
visions for his family, to let him know, and he 
would furnish it. He would make of him but 
one request. In his (the murmurer's) sitting- 
room he would put a marble-top stand, and on 
the stand a marble-top box ; but under no cir- 
cumstances was he to touch or raise up the box. 
" No, indeed," was the reply, "if it should sit 
there until I get as old as Methuselah, 1 will nev- 
er touch it." So the happy family went into 
their mansion. The gentleman had privately put 
a mouse under the box, which he fed once a day, 
in the absence of the family from the room. 
This went on for several months. The new 



TBE TRUE DUTY, 57 

Adam began to wonder what was in the box that 
be was not to look into. This curiosity continued 
to grow on him, until he almost became as king 
Ahab did when refused the coveted vineyard. 
He could scarcely eat or sleep, and would roll 
and tumble nights, pondering over the contents 
of that box. At last, he concluded he would 
just look into it, if it cost him his paradise. He 
raised the box, and out hops the mouse. He 
was satisfied and returned to bed. Next morn- 
ing, he said he did n't feel like getting up, and 
'didn't until his lord came and called for him. 
(It can be remembered that Adam wasn't easily 
found after he had touched the forbidden fruit.) 
His lord coming into the room, missing his pet, 
called his Adam — "Adam, Oh Adam ! Adam !" 
"Sir," ke answered. "Where art thou ^" 
"Here I am, in the bed, sick.'' "Adam, what 
did you touch my box for?" "I did not hurt 
anything, my lord. I just raised it up, and put 
it down the same way." " But did n't I tell you, 
whatever you did, not to touch it?" "Yes, 
you did; but I could n't help it." Adam was at 



58 THE TRUE DUTY. 

once removed from his princely palace to his 
dreaded lower condition of labor. 

Now, this man was unhappy because his mas- 
ter had a privilege that he had not, and that was 
because he could n't look into the box. The 
reader will comprehend that this is the condition 
of men who are deprived of the rights of their 
fellows. The injustice of the American govern- 
ment to the free colored people prompted their 
white friends to organize the American Coloniza- 
tion Society, to assist in carrying them to Libe- 
ria, where they could have or form a government 
of their own. 

The way to do justice is to abide by the laws 
of the general government, and the State laws 
where they do not conflict with the general gov- 
ernment. We should adhere to the fourteenth 
• and fifteenth amendments, and also the civil 
rights bill. The fourteenth amendment recogni- 
zes all native-born men of the United States as 
citizens. The fifteenth amendment gives to all 
men the right of franchise or full equality at the 
ballot-box. The Civil Rights Bill guarantees to 
.all men equilay before the law. Mark our 



THE TRUE DUTY. 59 

words : until the people of the United States 
recognize the equality (not social equality) of all 
before law, we will be an unhappj' nation. No 
country can be what it ought to be where the law 
makes unjust distinctions among its people. 
Then the writer would say to nis people, do 
your duty to the country in which you live. 
Show to the world that you are willing to abide 
by the law to-day as you did when the shackles 
were around you ; as, you know, the reward is 
only to the faithful. 

In 1876, both national political parties recog- 
nized in their platforms the equal rights of all 
men before the law. 258 delegates that assem- 
bled at the Democratic State Convention of Geor- 
gia in 1878, voted to sustain the colored Demo- 
cratic delegates, showing that they recognized all 
men's rights before the law. The only way for 
people to prove their fidelity to these national 
platforms is to carry them out in deed and not in 
name. 

May the time soon come when special legisla- 
tion will cease. May all feeling of antipathy, 
between races, die; and that feeling only live 



6o THE TRUE DUTY. 



that does its duty to its fellow men. Let the past 
be ^jast. Let us not wander forty years in the 
wilderness. Let us turn over a new leaf; close 
the era of injustice and begin the new one of 
good will to all men. Let us not look back, nor 
dwell on mistakes of years gone by, but go on- 
ward together to prosperity. 

Then, may we believe, that He who has the 
making and ruling of all things will cause all to 
come right, and that which is wrong to cease to be. 



Now may the Maker and Builder of all tb'ngs, 
Who over wickedness and justice doth reign — 
Who has power to change the wrong to the right — 
Adjust all things— set them forth in their true light. 
May each and every one acknowledge their faults, 
Regardless of the past or what they 've been taught. 
May the North be the South and the South the North, 
In regarj to feelings, even though they 've fought. 
May all races, whoever they may be. 
Be morally and politically free. 
Now, when it is tried, it sure can be done— 
When all this complete, victory will be won. 



LRBJa30 



